 |
 |
I understand what you're saying, but there's something about that conclusion that troubles me. Kipling refers to three "doors". Two of them are real: Charing Cross Station; and Port Said. It seems strange to me, given that two of them are real, that the third of them should be fictional. Maybe that only seems strange to me because I don't know Kipling; maybe that's just the sort of thing he'd do. On 2018-06-23 04:45 PM, John Walker wrote: > Alastair's usual thorough reply suggests to me that Kipling might have > been 'having a dig' at the fuss over the 'Lunatic Line'. > > Perhaps Nyanza Dock was being laughed at as a foolish attempt to > bring Africa together (see my comment about the Sahara). > > > John > > > > Mailtrack > <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> > Sender notified by > Mailtrack > <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> > 06/23/18, 10:42:00 PM > > > On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 10:40 PM John Walker <[log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Dear Leslie, > > Donald Mackenzie was the man who invented Port Victoria. He was > going to flood the Sahara, so that ships could sail to Timbuktu. > > (That last sentence should get someone else to chip in to this > discussion). > > And the railway buffs should be eager to tell you about the Uganda > Railway: > > What is the use of it, none can conjecture, > What it will carry, there is none can define, > And in spite ofGeorge Curzon > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Curzon,_1st_Marquess_Curzon_of_Kedleston>'s > superior lecture, > It is clearly naught but a lunatic line. > > There is bound to be much Wiki on this. > > AGW, > > John > > > > > > > Mailtrack > <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> > Sender notified by > Mailtrack > <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> > 06/23/18, 10:39:09 PM > > > On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 10:16 PM Leslie Katz <[log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Many thanks for taking the trouble to reply John. > > On 2018-06-23 03:52 PM, John Walker wrote: >> Dear Leslie, >> >> Like you, I had always associated Nyanza Docks with Port >> Florence. > "Always" is a bit of stretch in my case--I'd never heard of > either as recently as twelve hours ago! >> We are not talking about a great trading place here, any more >> than Charing Cross, but simply the kind of spot where you can >> 'wait at the Nyzana Docks till he comes'... oddly enough, >> someone recently, talking about a new freeport at Kisumu used >> the modern phrase; a 'logistic hub'.... with a new rail link. >> >> Then, of course, your note set me to wondering whether >> the/local /name for a Dock in Woolwich was being used, but >> the street John mentions is a very long way across Plumsted >> Common from the water. >> >> So, I was still thinking Port Florence fits, if you allow for >> the closeness of Port Victoria, which had a classical >> position as the end point for some caravan routes. > But not, as far as I can tell, the end point of a railway, > which Collins associated with the place in his article. >> >> And, by chance, I came across the 'Victoria Nyanza' link, on >> old Admiralty charts, and even as the name of a trading vessel. >> >> https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1373/8/76 >> >> So now my vote is for Port Victoria, with a nod to Mackenzie. > I'm sorry, but I don't understand the reference to Mackenzie. > > I know this is revealing my almost complete ignorance about > Kipling, but I'm not aware that he was ever in Kenya. If he > wasn't, I wonder how he came to think of mentioning some docks > there as one of the great doors of the world, along with > Charing Cross Station and (effectively) Port Said. > > Thank you again, > > Leslie > > >> >> All the best, >> >> John >> >> >> >> . >> >> >> Mailtrack >> <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> >> Sender notified by >> Mailtrack >> <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=signaturevirality5&> >> 06/23/18, 9:41:19 PM >> >> >> On Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 6:31 PM Leslie Katz >> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: >> >> In "The Limitations of Pambe Serang", Kipling identified >> "three great doors in the world where, if you stand long >> enough, you shall meet any one you wish." One of those >> doors was said to be "the Nyanza Docks". >> >> At >> http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_limitspambe_notes.htm, >> I found the following note: "Nyanza Docks there are no >> docks of this name in London, but there is a Nyanza >> Street in Woolwich, London S.E.18." >> >> JP Collins, in an article in (1939) 7 Kipling Journal 8, >> locates "the Nyanza Docks" in Africa and says that it >> links a water route with a railway. >> >> On the shores of Lake Victoria, there's the city of >> Kisumu, Kenya (formerly Port Florence). It has a rail >> link to Mombasa, Kenya, which is on the ocean. >> >> According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyanza, nyanza >> is the Bantu word for lake, including Victoria Nyanza >> (Lake Victoria). >> >> Doing the best I can, I'm guessing that the Nyanza Docks >> to which Kipling was referring were in Port Florence. >> >> Since I know nothing about Kipling, I could well have >> this all wrong. >> >> I'd appreciate any guidance. >> >> Leslie >> >> ######################################################################## >> >> To unsubscribe from the RUDYARD-KIPLING list, click the >> following link: >> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=RUDYARD-KIPLING&A=1 >> > > -- > > Leslie Katz > > email: lesliek [at] mymts [dot] net > > Please visit http://ssrn.com/author=1164057 to find hyperlinks > > to papers that I’ve written on literary and legal topics > -- Leslie Katz email: lesliek [at] mymts [dot] net Please visit http://ssrn.com/author=1164057 to find hyperlinks to papers that I’ve written on literary and legal topics ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the RUDYARD-KIPLING list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=RUDYARD-KIPLING&A=1